Folding seat



4 G. H. FULLER. FOLDING s LAT. 1 No. 245,153. Patented Aug. 2,y 1881.

Inventor N. mms. mmhegnpw, wwwwwwwwww ne.

` so as to strellgthen them. At the upper end- UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

1eEOEeEH.-FULLEF, oF sAN FnANCIsCO, CALIFORNIA.

FOLDING SEAT.

SPECIFICATION formngpart of LettersPatent No. 245,153, dated August 2, 1881.

' Application filed July so, Isso. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE H. FULLER, of the city and county of San Francisco, and State of California, have invented an Improved Folding Seat 5 and I hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description thereof.

My inventioll consists in a specific improvement, hereinafter claimed, by which the chairfralne is greatly strengthened.

Referring to the accompanying drawings for a more complete explanation of my invention, Figure 1 is Va perspective view ot' theseat unfolded for use. Fig. 2 is a sectional view with the parts folded. Fig. 3 is a side view of the seat partly folded.

A A are the back legs ofthe seat, and they are continued up to form the sides a of the back; rlhe bars B unite these side pieces and form the back-support,and the rails O unite tllefrear legs-to strengthen them, the whole t'ornlillg the back and back-leg frame.

The front-leg frame consists of the legs D, wllich are contillued up above the seat, and so curved tllat their upper ends rest against the front ofthe backs a. They are connected by rails E below the seat in the usual manner,

these front-leg extensions are beveled oli', as s howll at d, so as to rest flush against the front of the side pieces, a.

Links F are bolted upon each side ofthe side pieces, a and D, at c c', alld when the seat is unfolded these links stand in line with the upper part, d, and act as direct tllrust-bearings to lock the front lggs in place and prevent their moving when the seat is unfolded and in use.

lThe side rails, Gr, of the seat extend from the rea-r to thefrnt legs at the proper height, as shown, and are pivoted to them at b b', so that when unfolded they arein a position about parallel with the floor, whilethe links F stand at an acute angle with them.v V

The points on the back legs where the seat and links arevpivoted are the fulcrums about which the front-leg frame moves, in the mauner of a parallel ruler, and without any supplemental braeesor supports o t any sort. The side rails of the seat are connected by the longitudinal Vrails EI, and a rigid bottom is secured to the seat-frame, as shown. The whole seat, AAwhen opened, is thus made very rigid, and it is particularly adapted to be used for long seats or settees, and in halls, where it is often necessary to pack the seats into a smaller compass to clear the loor. The curve of the back and back legs, the front legs, and the seat-bottom correspond so nearly that when the parts are folded together the front legs fo-llow the curve of and' rest upon the back legs, while the seat follows the curve of the back alld lies between the front and rea-r legs, so that the whole device only occupies a space equal tothe thickness of the legs.'

The distance between the pivots b b is somewhat greater than the'distallce betweell the pivots c c', and the distance between the pivots b c upon the rear legs is also greater than the distance between the pivots b c upon the front legs. By this construction the front legs move about the rear ones like the sides of a parallel ruler, guided by the seat and the links F; but the above-mentioned differences in length, while allowing them to fold closely upon the rear legs, will throw the bottom of the front legs out anddraw the upper ends, d, ill until they rest against the rear portion, a, and are locked or braced bythe links F, without the aid of other connections or braces.

I am aware that the patent of Gardener, October 10, 1871, shows a folding chair having front, back, and seat all'pivoted together, the connection between the front and back frames being made by a link embedded in wood and set out of line with the front standards. I am also aware that the patents of Collignon and Vaill, of November 24,1868, and February 27,`

1877, show folding seats wherein the front frames are joined to the back by au intermediate connecting-piece, which forms the round of the chair, and I do notclaim such connections; but

The described folding seat, consisting of the curved back-frame, a the front-leg frame, composed of standards which form the arms and front legs of the seat, and which are provided with beveled ends, the link F, pivoted to the back-frame and to the front-leg frame, soas to be in line with such front-leg frame when the seat is open, and the seat G, pivoted at b b to the front and back frame, all sub stantiallyas described.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

GEORGE H. FULLER. Witnesses:

CHAs. G. YALE,- S. H. NoURsE. 

